BRINGING THE SAXONS INTO THE 21ST CENTURY by Sally Bryant

IT SOFTWARE engineer Kevin Cowley is known to most of his friends as ‘Ketil’ – but it isn’t a childhood nickname, as you might think.

Ketil is Kevin’s ‘authentic’ name, because he specialises in historical re-enactments where everything – even your name – has to be as accurate as possible.

The 42-year-old, from Wittenham Road, is a member of Regia Anglorum, a society with around 600 members nationwide.

The title means ‘Kingdoms of the English’ and the group is dedicated to bringing to life the period from 950AD to 1066 (with a little leeway, depending on the event they are attending).

From April to September, groups attend fairs and shows to give visitors valuable insight into life in this country around a thousand years ago, and it isn’t all crashing and bashing around in a ‘battle’.

As Kevin explains: “The big aim of the society is to provide an educational basis aimed at Key Stage Two (settlers and invaders in the National Curriculum). We have a living history exhibit, a big, tented encampment with people living and working on site, showing crafts and styles of the period. The whole village is open and we get to talk to people about the period and the society.”

And village life is a real family affair for the Cowleys. Kevin met his wife, Elisabeth, through Regia Anglorum and the children are seasoned historical campers as well – Ealasade, three, went along to her first event at eight weeks and seven-year-old Finnbahr is reaping the rewards of their unusual hobby in school.

Kevin says: “All the kids within the society have a much better grasp of history than the rest of their class, because they are doing this all the time.”

Even the dogs are part of the living history exhibit – the family have ancient breeds, a Norwegian buhund and a Balaric greyhound, which also go along and create excitement among visitors!

Being part of an enactment society takes commitment. Clothes, usually made by the people wearing them, are as authentic as possible.

Kevin says: “They will be linen or wool, or occasionally silk – silk was recorded in some dowries.

“We wear a tunic and trousers, and the shoes will be handmade. There are about two people in the country making shoes for re-enactors and mine are about £120.

“When I started in 1988, I could get away with a tunic made from second-hand blankets. Now you have to be authentic looking and getting linen isn’t a problem but wool is, the wool market has gone.

“There are one or two specialist suppliers.”

This attention to detail goes into every aspect of the re-enactments. Tents on the encampment are wood and canvas and prying eyes will find no signs of the 21st Century while an event is open to the public – even lunch is likely to be pottage, a stew of seasonal vegetables and cracked wheat or pearl barley cooked on the fire.

So much effort goes into giving a living glimpse of days gone by, but now Kevin and Elisabeth are also putting energy into a more lasting tribute to the past. The society is building an Anglo-Saxon manor house – a ring ditch fortification with long hall, ladies’ hall and ancillary buildings – near Canterbury in Kent and Kevin is now construction foreman for the Wychurst project.

“An architectural company took ‘fag packet drawings’ and turned them into proper drawings. We started digging holes and cutting timber for the long hall itself in late ’99. A team of about 20 are there regularly about once a month.

“This is going to be the biggest long hall in the country, 60ft long, 30ft wide and 30ft in height. It’s the thane’s hall, where the local bigwig lived, taxes were collected, judgements made and where people could shelter in times of Viking raids.”

It’s a huge undertaking, and coupled with spending weekends 1,000 years back in time it obviously spills over into the rest of life but the couple are convinced the spin-offs are all good.

Kevin says: “I found history at school totally boring and I can’t quote kings and queens and dates but through doing this I’ve learnt huge amounts – for example, I now count wood-turning as a hobby, but I’d never thought of it before. Elisabeth is the best weaver in the society, and one of the 10 best in the country.”

Elisabeth reckons their practical skills, including the complicated tablet weaving she has mastered, have taught them a lot about themselves.

She said: “It’s the ability to know you can cope with anything life throws at you. A friend returned home to find the washing machine had broken, so she was straight up there in the bath, treading the clothes.

“It’s a good job the hot water hadn’t gone as well, otherwise she’d have been dragging the cauldron outside to boil it up!”

It’s a fascinating pastime, but the obvious question is how on earth did they get involved? Elisabeth was into fencing and martial arts when she first went along to a battle practice, and became hooked. For Kevin, it was a natural progression from tabletop role-playing – Dungeons & Dragons, and other such games – to live action role play (“all fantasy and dressing up!”) then a battle practice when that had become boring. He joined Regia Anglorum in 1988 and the rest, as they say, is living history.

And if you are still wondering why, Kevin says: “It can take over your life, but the society is a big family, and a different kind of hard work. I can’t think of doing anything else!”

l Kevin Cowley is the living history co-ordinator for Regia Anglorum and runs the local group for Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. He can be contacted by e-mailing sceaftesige@azer.co.uk